Wednesday, December 28, 2005

I wrote this prior to the Christmas holiday. Since it was not chock full of holiday spirit, I delayed the delivery until now.

I do not condone rioting in any form. It's grossly uncivilized behavior. That does not justify the uncivilized, biased reporting, that is being vended by the press. Violent riots have occurred in both France and Australia recently.

Important Note: Both riots were sparked by the actions of Arab, Palestinian or Muslim youths, breaking the law.

It appears, in the first paragraph, Jamie would like to convince us that French youth are only acting on their pent up frustration over lean welfare checks, and police chasing lawbreakers into an electric insect zapper.

French rioters not linked to radical Islamic militants, officials and experts sayBy: Associated Press - France has been rocked by riots since Oct. 27, and many of the youths throwing rocks and gasoline bombs are the French-born children of immigrants from North Africa and West Africa. The country is home to more than 5 million Muslims, many living in impoverished housing projects that have been epicenters of the unrest.

More apology coming from AP. Now they must be desperate to dissassociate their adopted constituency from being tied to global terror merchants. Sure, they are all just structured gangs. Sure, we are all just prematurely speculating.

Many people view the violence as the expression of pent-up anger by the country's unemployed and underemployed youth, particularly in Muslim immigrant communities, and as a sign of the difficulty North Africans have experienced in trying to integrate into French society.

I will give you one guess who's opinion they are talking about. Even that guess doesn't count.

One government lawmaker, Bruce Baird, said anti-Muslim resentment that has risen since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed 88 Australians also played a role.

Local residents say there have been frequent minor racially charged confrontations on Cronulla beach, but never anything close to the scale of Sunday's unrest.

It certainly didn't take long for the press and local officials to identify the racist cultural hate brewing behind this riot. This may even be true! What I would like to know is, where was that sort of visual and journalistic clarity during the French riots? Well... it gets better.

Now we have the Reuter's story, on the Sydney riots, that plays both cards:

The first night, it's all about 'racist whites'. Take note Reuters doesn't mention any racial or political motivations behind the attacks on two lifeguards, by the downtrodden Arab youths. Reuters also didn't think twice about keeping all this juicy racism information, in the story, sans editing. Then, several paragraphs later, during the 'STRIKE BACK' riot, Reuter's and local officials package the information about the Muslim riot response this way:

But some politicians laid the blame squarely on racism.

"We are just getting a sample of what happened in France a few months ago," said Labor opposition politician Harry Quick.

"We have reached a pressure cooker stage here. People of ethnic minority in Australia are just taking things into their own hands."

That's right folks. This article starts with Arab or Lebanese or Palestinian youths allegedly beating up lifeguards, followed by evil white racists, beating up Arabs and Muslims, followed by general banter implying racism on both sides, ending with an argument that the ethic minorities, and not the poor classes in general, are just victims of, you guessed it, evil white racists and downtrodden social conditions. I don't remember any mention of downtrodden social conditions for Lebanese Muslims, when they were raping young Australian girls, in the name of cultural tradition, back in the late '90's. Shhhh... don't tell anybody.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

I remember the sticky pine wreath and tree sap, weeping through my mittens, leaving little black fuzz on my fingers and a pleasant smell on my mind. Crazy Mistletoe traps hovered over doors, snatching perfectly sane adults in their grasp, only to urge them to pull me into a conspiracy of kisses. Yams, hams and Rankin Bass Christmas classic clay animation classics, with endless sequential stories of optimistic triumph over holiday tribulation, marched along the beating drum of carols and musical tributes. Where did mom hide those presents? Can I guess what's in this box?

There I was, Christmas eve, waiting in my grandmother's house for Santa's arrival. A brisk winter wind would usher the gnarled fingers from that craggy old oak, across a roof shingle or two. I would whisper over to my sister.

"Did you hear that?!"

I gasped, slipping from underneath the quilt, and padding to the window. I could feel the frigid breath of winter crystals kissing my cheek, through the leaky, creaky window sash, as I pressed on the glass, trying to purchase a glimpse.

"Shhhh! Quiet! Get back to bed!"

My sister would caution me, reminding me that if Santa detected my awakened state, he would hurry off to the next house, leaving us unadorned by gifts. She was bigger, but none the wiser. She also reminded me that if I scared St. Nick off, she would quickly cast my broken body on her scales of sibling justice, for my curious folly.

To my relief, the next morning, there was that brand new box full of Tinkertoys, the Erector set or a dazzling box of Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots. Stumbling in excitement and pajamas, in the midst of the smell of Christmas morning bacon sizzling, hot buttered toast, steaming rich cocoa and pancakes, we would shower each other in the confetti of exhausted bows and paper. Gramps would have to shoo us into the television den, since our rough housing had upended Gram's ashtray, bringing a brief orange shower down on her seasoned wood floor, still fuming from an early wash of Murphy's Oil soap, wicking between the cracks.

How do you tell a Holiday story, so that it will last many years?

If a story is embedded in the ritual of tradition and it is bound tightly to the human senses, the story will be immune to variations in language, or the education of its recipients. The Jewish folks have a meal called the seder. It is an elaborate ritual of cleansing, unleavened bread and ritual, geared towards the remembrance of Exodus. It does not matter what language is spoken during the exercise. The story is elaborately told by the sounds, the smells, the tastes and the timing.

As I get older, the things I cherish about Christmas are those very things that make tradition so important to people. I don't care much about gifts these days. The sounds, the tastes, the ornaments, music and gentle touches of the holiday mean much more to me now. Apparently, there was no brainwashing, in spite of years of exposure to consumerism.

Every year I inevitably join a discussion regarding the materialism and consumerism of Christmas. I know it's a popular theme here in Massachusetts, where everybody likes to pontificate on the evils of Walmart and Costco. Of course, they quickly bring the evil corporate bonus they received down to Walmart and Costco, to buy all those toys and gifts at bargain prices. Whenever a particular brand of criticism becomes too popular, much like a stock, I begin to think that it is time to get out of the market.

Is Christmas more commercial? Probably.

Are people trying to remove the original meaning from Christmas? Definitely.

Is the commercial aspect of the Christmas holiday wholly responsible for the decline in Christmas spirit?

Not really, in my humble opinion. I think secular hostility, political correctness and the destruction of the family dynamic, are the guilty parties. If you strip away a good deal of the real underlying Christmas spirit, what remains? The gift giving stands alone. It is easy to judge what is left over. It is easy to blame the leftovers, for any moral decline we now witness. If people are giving, merely out of the guilt of obligation, for generic Holiday theatrics, the meaning, behind the giving, is empty.

I know many people never grow out of selfishness. I know many people have painful Christmas holiday memories, often brought on by self-imposed emotional obligations. I have been through enough of those years, sometimes ruined by my own selfishness. It's all part of accepting the perpetual imperfection of our lives, I suppose.

Ultimately, isn't selflessness and human imperfection the lesson taught to us, by the human being who's name and birth are celebrated every Christmas?

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The coil needs tuning and gap polishing. If I weren't so lazy, the sparks you see here would be about two to three times the size.

This is what happens when I hold a shop light tube up to the sphere, with the camera in my right hand. There's plenty of energy potential to excite the tube's mercury vapor, noble gas and phosphor into fluorescence.

Doesn't she look cute? And she's wearing one of those shirts Howard is now waiving proudly.

Oh what a difference, a year can make, in those cozy relationships. One thing I really respect about this guy, is he is not afraid to say it like he believes it. Way to go Howard! Keep up the good Republican fight!

It looks like Hillary has got a very difficult task ahead of her. She has to distance herself from from the likes of Howard Dean, Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan to secure the support of the electorate. But she also needs money. A large portion of that money seems to be coming from that very same crowd. Between support of the troops and support of her base, Hillary is wedged firmly between Iraq and a hard place. She's a Clinton though, able to deliver a smile and a lie, without batting an eye. Wind her up and watch her go.

I have this irrational compulsion to fill the gas tank to the top, after it drops below the halfway point. I know the truck has plenty of extra capacity, even when the needle rests on -E-. It is also equipped with a blinding little orange gas pump symbol, that begins to hypnotically tease you, to the rhythm of a dying ocean of petrol, gasping at a healthy margin of two gallons. I have only seen the little Toyota tidy bowl man's lantern twice in the six years I have piloted the ship. I can only attribute this behavior to suffering at the hands of both my sister and mother, who often preferred to keep an empty can in the trunk, knowing that the inevitable negligence would lead to several hours of Zen meditation, while I bring rescue, or venture forth with their can.

In a not entirely unrelated compulsion, I always have to have redundancy in household mechanisms that require it. This means spare bulbs, spare blades, etc. Even snap off utility knives, with spare blades in the handle already, must have spare blades outside the handle. I know it's crazy, but there it is.

When I decide it is mentally fashionable to eat a particular food or combination of food, I usually eat it on march of days, get sick of it, then move on to the next interesting combination. For instance, I will pick something like beans and rice. For two weeks, it's navy beans, lima beans, kidney beans, pinto beans in combination with white rice, long grain, short grain, brown rice etc. Then I can't look at beans and rice for months. Then it's wrap sandwiches. Then it's meat and potatoes. Then it's salads in all varieties. This might be related to apartment living while working 50hrs a week on top of chemistry/physics classes at night, that required experiments involving factors and permutations. This excuse sounded as good as a hasty analysis of global warming.
So I went with it.

Much like Uber, I enjoy home experiments, of the scientific variety. DISCLAIMER: Do not try these at home, kiddies.I built a 250kV Tesla coil from PVC pipe, an automotive starting coil, carriage bolt spark gap and a homemade capacitor. You can stand next to this thing, while it generates ozone and six inch violet bolts of electricity. A loose shop light bulb in your hand, glows as bright as day. Another fun trick was filling a medium size thick plastic jug halfway, with water, an entire can of Red Devil lye. You then carefully drop sticks of aluminum foil in to generate large volumes of hydrogen. You fill trash bags with the hydrogen, and let them float off. You need plenty of head space and a decent snow bank to put the bottle in, since the exothermic reaction causes the water to boil violently. I might try my hand at a CO2 laser, or a home made fuel cell. That hydrogen experiment might come in handy for the latter.

Be careful. Boiling water with chunks of raw lye floating in it, can ruin your day. I always wear safety glasses, gloves etc. Don't be a dope, by say, filling your basement with hydrogen, when you have a lit pilot somewhere. The supreme being gaveth you your biological tools. Your raging curiosity can taketh them away. For our secular crowd, Charles Darwin always has his loving eye on you.

My last weird behavior is openly testing public situations and people that annoy me. My previous post, Magnetic Personality, is a perfect example. No doubt, I was tagged a weirdo there. I can't stand being put through a process, which has had all of it's original use and meaning stripped away. The public school system and the registry of motor vehicles are other good examples. There is nothing to be gained, in the humor department, by testing them.

P.S. - In a completely unrelated event, I had to use my towstrap to pull several colleagues out of the snowbound parking lot at work, yesterday. As I was driving home, I noticed a guy in an exceptionally small and fragile vehicle, completely bogged in a slushy delta, at the mouth of another branch of the neighboring industrial park. I stopped to help. As I approached, I noticed the Kerry for Pres. bumper sticker on the back, along with all kinds of environmental paraphernalia. If only I had that Bush 2004 sticker on the truck. Damn! So, I took my evil conservative 4wd truck, hooked up the strap, and pulled his little hybrid hynie out of the polar soup. All thanks and salutations poured out. If only he knew.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh, was an outspoken, politically brash and abrasive film maker. He frequently excercised his right to free speech. He angered a lot of people with his words. He had praise for the U.S. He also had the courage to identify the real enemy in this world.

Now we have Harold Pinter, an outspoken, politically brash and abrasive playwright and poet. He frequently excercises his right to free speech. He angered a lot of people with his words. He had defacto praise for Mideast status quo. He also had the cowardice to bash the only country willing to take the lead on doing something about it.

His reward:

Fawning praise from European liberals and a Nobel Peace Prize. There will be much angry mail and writing, but he will not die in the hands of an angry religious jihadist. They will leave him alone; not for his act of free speech, but his act of cheap speech.

"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law,"

You mean concepts of international law written in the pages of 17 UN resolutions? Would that be the state terror born over a year of hand wringing, while a secret cadre of international hypocrit snobs shuffled oil vouchers to each other, under the table? I am sure there was no act of banditry there.

"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

The proper question is, "How many European deaths do you have to ignore, before stepping in and saving the quivering jello that remains? 6 to 10 Million?

"We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East,'"

I know Harold. The rotting dog food for oil program, non-random acts of body shredding, mutilation, electrocution and nerve gas experiments are so much more civilized. We all know that the UN was prepared to transform the region into a paradise of freedom, through the earth moving power of paperwork, child pornography and nepotism. At least we could have guaranteed that news networks like CNN would be able to suppress all of that inconvenient information, to maintain access to the regime. We would have spared the cowering sensitive orbs of every Harold Pinter, in this world.

The Nobel committee has not shied from rewarding writers who make a stand against authority, notably in rewarding the literature prize to Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 1970.

The only rewards they shy away from, are the ones producing real peace, instead of impotent rhetoric. You know, like Ronald Reagan, who brought down the Iron curtain and reduced the world's nuclear arms by half;all in a single stroke.

Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, introduced the lecture by saying Pinter was delivering "his free words such as a writer has a right to say them."

This is how Horace's secretarial position became permanent. He schedules the lecture, then defers the credit to the idiot on the podium. How do you climb the prestigious ranks of the Swedish Academy? On your knees, fool!

Pinter accused the United States of supporting "every right wing military dictatorship in the world" after World War II, from Chile to the Philippines.

While Harold Pinter was supporting every left wing dictatorship after World War II, from the murderous Stalin and Mao to Fidel Castro. If we added up all those deaths Harold was pining about, in the opening to his rant, I wonder who would come out the winner?

"The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them," he said. "It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis."

Very few people have talked about them?! ...... Lung butter is issuing forth on a long and protracted session of laughter. Four decades of incessant moonbat ranting by the likes of Pinter, translates to 'very few'.

I really like that masquerading remark. Did you see that one, John Kerry?

Remember that remark, the next time a Democrat dangles that soap-on-a-rope, in your face, touting the need to recapture our respect in the world. In Harold Pinter's remark, lies your respect. Not only does it not exist, It never existed. These people think the US is the biggest evil on the planet, in spite of all the charity, technology and wealth we have created for mankind. They are just like those artificial Katrina victims, sitting before the Senate. No gratitude. No love. Leave them to the Islamic barbarians, I say.

Pinter said the U.S. "also has its own bleating little lamb tagging behind it on a lead, the pathetic and supine Great Britain.

If they desired it, Great Britain could walk right into pathetic, supine Sweden and plant the Union Jack. I guess they just do not have a pressing desire for all that pickled herring, ice and gamboling socialists with bipolar disorder.

He said both Bush and Blair deserve to be arraigned by the Hague, Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.

What a great idea Harold. As soon as they tell you to go to hell, then you can call (?) to enforce the guilty verdict.

In 2002, Pinter, whose works include plays such as "The Caretaker," "The Room," and "The Birthday Party," revealed he was undergoing treatment for throat cancer.

Maybe he should have read the Surgeon General's warning, printed on his copy of the communist manifesto.

What is quite remarkable about this whole affair, is how the Swedish Academy is so capable of brilliantly choreographing sheer stupidity. It is like hiring a premium wait staff, renting a large function room at the Ritz, then promptly serving a generous dollop of loose dog feces in polished Waterford crystal. Everybody brings a steaming silver spoonful to their lips. They all chime in unison about its delectable, subtle flavor.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud.-- Ted Kennedy

Teddy is preparing a court brief, nullifying the charges against Saddam, on the basis that the war was a fraud, therefore, the subsequent capture and trial of Saddam is a fraud.

...there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the... -- John Kerry

Here, Kerry is supplying an affidavit that US Troops are state sponsored terrorists. Therefore, charging Saddam with state sponsored terror is the pot calling the kettle black. Ah, this brings back those good old swift boat memories of Vietnam, doesn't it John?

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case.

Durbin is bringing evidence to the table that the US is a perpetrator of war crimes on the same level as the Nazis and the Soviets. Therefore, charging Saddam with war crimes is the pot calling the kettle black.

Any court that considers criminal charges against Saddam Hussein must have the power and the mandate to consider charges against leaders and military personnel of the U.S., Britain and the other nations that participated in the aggression against Iraq, if equal justice under the law is to have meaning.-- Ramsey Clark (D) former US attorney general

As Saddam's principle defense attorney, Ramsey Clark, champion of the scum of the earth, a founder of ANSWER, wraps up the whole plan. Here is a true lover of the process and a morally bankrupt microbe.

The Defendant Speaks:

Saddam suddenly shouted that he would not attend. "I will not return. I will not come to an unjust court! Go to hell!" Saddam yelled. He also complained that he had no fresh clothes and that he had been deprived of shower and exercise facilities. "This is terrorism," he said.

On that last image above, I hope the defense team takes the time to remind us that every political move they make, is not executed out of the desire to recapture the power of the pulpit, but is purely motivated out of their heartfelt love, for the children.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it.-- John F. Kennedy

"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers"-- John Kennedy

The Bad...

We want to support our troops because they didn't make the decision to go there... but I don't think it should be open-ended....-- Ted Kennedy

The Ugly...

Shamefully we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management.-- Ted Kennedy

Al Qaeda really appreciates all your support, Ted. That is why you are a big hit on Al Jazeera.

National DefenseThe Good...

When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike, you do not wait until he has struck before you crush him.--Franklin D. Roosevelt

Four freedoms: The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of everyone to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world. --Franklin D. Roosevelt

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.-- John F. Kennedy

"It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war."-- John Kennedy

The Bad...

Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.-- Jimmy Carter

Yeah. You are an expert on the the concept of 'unopposed', are you not Jimmy? Right at the very birth of modern Islamic extremism.

For two years, terrorist cells have been spreading like cancer cells. Any doctor who let that happen would be guilty of malpractice.
-- Ted Kennedy

We are all impressed by your comprehensive plan to destroy them Ted. Now what was it again?

"The American people and our brave troops deserve better than a photo-op for the president and a pep-rally about Iraq. They deserve a plan. Unfortunately, today's event only served to highlight the fact that the president refuses to engage in a frank conversation about the realities on the ground."-- Harry ReidSo, where is that plan Harry? You know, the one You, Kerry and Kennedy have come up with.

I'll never give a veto to any country over our security.-- John F. Kerry

Something tells me he doesn't really mean it...

The Ugly...

I'm an internationalist. I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations.-- John F. Kerry

...Yep. He didn't really mean it.

It's better to send in the Peace Corps than the Marine Corps.-- Edward Kennedy

So that's how you stop the spread of terror cells. Free medicine, food and hostages to boot! If I were cancer, I would set up section 8 housing right in your lymph nodes, Ted.

Domestic Crisis

The Good...

"For of those to whom much is given, much is required"-- John Kennedy

"And so, my fellow Americans, ask not, what your country gives to you, but what you can give to your country."-- John Kennedy

It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.--Franklin D. RooseveltQuite right, FDR; specifically that admit failure part.The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today; Let us move forward with strong and active faith.--Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Bad...

Instead of talking about ways to save Social Security, Republicans are talking about a plan that will destroy it.-- Harry ReidAnother Democrat, presenting his own innovative idea to cure the impending insolvency of Social Security. See FDR above, for motivation, regarding self admission and moving on with faith.

The Ugly...

What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out and those people who were impoverished died.-- Edward Kennedy

Right. What a nice responsible quote, to rally the hopes of the people, before the bogus MSM told you that thousands never actually died. Now about that car thing... I know a certain young woman who had the benefit of a car, a date with money and she never got out. She died. You wouldn't know anything about that would you Ted?

John Kerry reporting for Doody

Governor Dean has no policy on Iraq evidently, except 'no.' 'No' is not a policy.-- John F. Kerry

The truth is, if the Bush Administration had come to the United States Senate and acknowledged there was no slam dunk case that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, acknowledged that Iraq was not connected to 9/11, there never would have even been a vote to authorize the use of force -- just as there's no vote today to invade North Korea, Iran, Cuba, or a host of regimes we rightfully despise.-- John KerrySo 'No' really is a policy isn't it John?

Women's Rights and Dignity

The Good...

"I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it." -- John Kennedy regarding his wife

The Bad...

I have often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can't get my wife to go swimming.-- Jimmy Carter regarding his wifeHey Jimmy, give your friend Ted Kennedy a call. He can help you out in this area...Ahem...